Driving High Means DUI

Driving High Means DUI

This is an introduction to an educational series on marijuana and driving.

By Candace Lightner

The legalization of marijuana and current opioid crisis are rarely mentioned in the same sentence as driving safety, however, the statistics are mounting in terms of how many of us are now at risk while crossing a street or taking our children to school.

I founded MADD for a reason. Our nation was turning a blind eye to driving while drunk and I am now seeing the same trend with marijuana and opioids. To that end, We Save Lives is about to launch a “Driving High Means a DUI” campaign with some of our partners. We need your help to stop people from driving under the influence of marijuana or any other drug.

We know that driving high is as dangerous. Just ask Lori Carlson, the mother of Hedaia and grandmother to her unborn baby, killed by a marijuana impaired driver. Because of lax drugged driving laws, the driver was only charged with reckless driving and was back on the streets in no time. The current laws and research are trying to catch up with the current legalization but they have a long way to go. What does this mean for our driving safety?

For instance, most people don’t even know whether you can be prosecuted if you are driving after smoking or ingesting marijuana. They also believe you actually drive safer and slower. We plan to address the very real risks of driving while high, the current laws that govern it, and those that have yet to catch up with the new legislation that legalized marijuana. We do not take a position on whether the drug should be legal but object to driving under the influence of marijuana or any other drug.

Our campaign will offer a series of educational blogs designed to keep you informed and help you learn more about what is safe and what isn’t. We will always encourage you to make intelligent and responsible choices when confronted with the possibility of driving under the influence or becoming a passenger in any car driven by someone who is high.

If you agree that more needs to be done to stop these tragedies and change driver behavior, please sign our petition STOP MARIJUANA-IMPAIRED DRIVING!Please share this with your friends, family and on social media.

About the Author

Candace Lightner is the founder and president of We Save Lives and the founder of MADD. She has been in the forefront of the anti drugged driving movement for more than almost 10 years.

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WSP Trooper Ben Taylor administers a field sobriety test to a driver who nearly crashed her car into a concrete barrier on SR 500, Friday, December 9, 2011. The dirver was arrested for DUI. (Steven Lane/The Columbian)